Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Threads

Ben, please add these new albums:

As I Lay Dying - Through Storms Ahead

The Browning - OMNI

Just so you know Andi, every week I add every new metal release that has 50 or more ratings on RYM. So you don't need to request new releases for these bigger bands. They'll already be on my list.

The debut EP by Danish progressive rock/metal band VOLA has a sound blended with alt-metal that would heard again over a decade and a half later in their new album Friend of a Phantom. Homesick Machinery has frequent accessibility in riffs, melodies, and vocals, sounding almost similar to Sleep Token a decade before that band even existed. So I'd like to submit VOLA's "Homesick Machinery" to The Hall to be added to The Gateway while staying in the Infinite.

Shade Empire marks yet another one of my attempts in exploring with symphonic black metal without resistance from the genre, as they blend it with industrial-ish melodic death metal. Zero Nexus continues that blend, with the dramatic strings, pummeling blasts, and searing shrieks, all of which scream symphonic black metal. So I'd like to send Shade Empire's "Zero Nexus" to the Hall to be added to The North with the symphonic black metal subgenre, while maintaining its position in The Horde and melodic death metal.

I remember earlier on, we talked about Fleshgod Apocalypse being a much more suitable band for The Horde instead of The Guardians. That is definitely true for their 2000s/2010s albums, but their newest album Opera has some Guardians potential, with emphasis on heavy/power metal-based symphonic metal in great display. Many songs have the epic melodic riffing and the occasional galloping speed of power metal. That, along with grand usage of bombastic orchestra and soprano vocals, the latter being more prominent than before with Veronica Bordacchini becoming a full-time member and taking over on all clean singing, brings things closer to a more extreme Epica/Trail of Tears. So I'd like to submit Fleshgod Apocalypse's "Opera" to the Hall to be added to The Guardians as symphonic metal, while maintaining its position in The Horde and symphonic death metal.

Thanks Daniel.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement:

https://metal.academy/hall/547

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement:

https://metal.academy/hall/546

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement:

https://metal.academy/hall/545

I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.

Let's also not forget the awful cover songs on early Megadeth albums with Boots and Anarchy... both being especially loathesome.

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Neurotech - "Blue Screen Planet (Part I Axiom)" from Blue Screen Planet (2011)

3.5/5. Let's start this playlist with a bombastic journey of symphonic cyber metal... Well, too bombastic. Some parts are overdone, which very much exemplifies the paraphrased adage, "Too many ingredients spoil the broth." While this epic is still solid, Neurotech's 10-minute explorations are better explored in the later symphonies.

Mechina - "The Grand Hunt" from Cenotaph (2023)

4/5. Now this is a slightly better piece of epic cyber metal, this one by Mechina. If this banger was ever performed live, expect a slamming battle in the crowd. The glorious vocals and kick-A rhythms hit the spot, despite those bombastic symphonics again.

Lord of the Lost - "Leave Your Hate in the Comments" from Blood & Glitter (2022)

4.5/5. This one is a big "f*** you" to those who can plague the internet with negativity from the privacy of their home. I'm amazed by how brilliant this is, having the "take no sh*t" attitude the rest of the album would have.

Psyclon Nine - "We the Fallen" from We the Fallen (2009)

5/5. One of the best songs by Psyclon Nine, in both the music and vocals! And this was when they were really transitioning out of their aggrotech roots into industrial metal.

Eisbrecher - "Zwischen Uns" from Schock (2015)

4.5/5. The lyrics are quite well-done despite being in German. It's sad that I'm not from Germany, otherwise I would understand these songs a lot more.

Device - "Vilify" from Device (2013)

4/5. Following this is the best choice for the Device's first single. It's a great highlight of Draiman's strong vocals.

Red Queen - "Asyphyx" from Star Blood (2016)

4/5. In This Moment goes Psyclon Nine... Interesting mix!

OOMPH! - "Land Ahead (feat. Sharon den Adel)" from Truth or Dare (2010)

4.5/5. Beautiful vocals by Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation! This is an English version of an earlier OOMPH! song "Land in Sicht".

Motionless in White - "Reincarnate: Reincarnated" from Reincarnate: 10 Year Anniversary (2024)

5/5. As with the original version, this highlight has some deep synths and metalcore riffing that begin when Chris shouts "GET UP!" What really makes this song accessible within the extremeness is the melodic Breaking Benjamin-like chorus, all piecing together a simply great structure.

Blue Stahli - "Lakes of Flame" from Lakes of Flame (2018)

4.5/5. This killer single was supposed to be in the Obsidian album but didn't make it in. How much can Blue Stahli and Celldweller surprise their listeners with their respective singles?! A lot, that's what! Though this one sounds more suitable for Celldweller's Satellites. Think about this like a more metallic The Prodigy. WE NEED F***ING MORE!!! It's actually a better change of style than what Within Temptation have done that year. And it definitely has some DOOM vibes in the aggressive instrumentation.

Circle of Dust - "Humanarchy" from Machines of Our Disgrace (2016)

5/5. Though not as aggressive as this chaotic track. It's like Nailbomb 2.0!

Celldweller - "Good L_ck (Yo_'re F_cked)" from End of an Empire (2015)

4.5/5. Imagine an emo-ish boss battle soundtrack, this song could be that!

PAIN - "Dancing With the Dead" from Dancing With the Dead (2005)

5/5. Two of the most melodic bands I enjoy nowadays are PAIN and Powerwolf. For PAIN, some of us can relate to the lyrics of struggling madness in this h*ll of an addictive track, especially if you're on the edge of life.

Ruoska - "Alasin" from Amortem (2006)

4.5/5. This band rules, and I wish they could release their next album to break this 16-year gap. I don't need Rammstein when I have this Finnish band!

Dead World - "The Machine" from The Machine (1993)

4/5. This track has Voivod-like riffing while staying slow and doom-ish as usual.

Killing Joke - "Judas Goat" from Hosannas From the Basements of Hell (2006)

4.5/5. This one leads you to the darkest depth of Hell with more technical drumming, guitar rhythms, and singing almost like a mantra.

Fear Factory - "Pisschrist" from Demanufacture (1995)

5/5. Despite the name, this highlight is a total industrial mind-smasher. It starts dark and heavy before rising into epic drama. Alongside industrial samples and drumming, it then leads to more of the furious growls and apocalyptic cleans by Burton C. Bell, the latter especially the ending of atmospheric majesty. "Where is your savior now?"

Lindemann - "Praise Abort" from Skills in Pills (2015)

4.5/5. Even a song like this can take on a controversial topic without causing a storm of conservative protesters.

Ministry - "Brick Windows" from Filth Pig (1996)

4/5. This one brings back some earlier experimentation. Fantastic lyrics in this one!

Godflesh - "Don't Bring Me Flowers" from Pure (1992)

4.5/5. This one helps the band stand by their principles for this highlight.

Code Orange - "The Above" from The Above (2023)

5/5. The title finale of the new Code Orange album summarizes all that the band has stated. The exciting ominous crescendo of transcending vocals, chords, and leads shows their loud diversity. The changes in the beat and the dynamics are all in decent calculation and mark a climatic conclusion to this powerful journey.

Fange - "Les Vergers De La Désolation" from Pantocrator (2021)

4.5/5. We still have one more track, and it's the second 10+ minute epic of both its original album and this playlist. It sounds more post-rock-ish, while maintaining a lot of the industrial effects. Lots of moods, melody, and textures... They can add in a slight bit of accessibility while staying in the underground.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Bury Your Dead - "Minority Report" from We Are Bury Your Dead (2019)

5/5. "It's f***ing time to rock, baby!" Bury Your Dead is still alive and stirring up some dark heavy bangers. This is the kind of raging metallic hardcore you can hear in other bands like Kublai Khan. This is the perfect brutal start for this playlist to immediately get familiar with the hardcore heaviness. They've also returned to naming their songs after Tom Cruise films, this one named after Minority Report, which has been overly repeated on TV in my country.

Rings of Saturn - "Infused" from Lugal Ki En (2014)

4.5/5. Who knew brutal technical deathcore can sound beautiful?! I love the vocals and cosmic guitar fiddling! I just wish they could've added vocals to their new album.

Fit for a King - "TECHNIUM" from TECHNIUM (2024)

4/5. Once the bass drops at the "DROP IT", you're in for another wild ride.

Unbroken - "D4" from Life.Love.Regret. (1994)

3.5/5. Beginning this track is crushing sinister riffing, then it makes a slow transition to really grow on you.

Kingdom of Giants - "Bloodworm" from Bleeding Star (2024)

4/5. This banger would get you hooked from the very beginning. When the heavy riffing comes in between the two parts of the chorus near the one-minute mark, it has the destructive power of Alpha Wolf. Starting the last minute is an ominous 20-second buildup to a pulverizing breakdown. That's one thing to make a f***ing banger!

Loded Diper - "Rodrick Rules" from Loded Diper (2019)

4.5/5. The only one Loded Diper dialogue-sampled instrumental I really enjoy, with its kick-A thrashy metalcore instrumentation.

Trivium - "Pillars of Serpents" from Ember to Inferno (2003)

5/5. Then it transits to this chugging churning example of heavy metalcore, still audible enough for the ears. In fact you can hear a bit of the bass clearly in the mix.

Becoming the Archetype - "Elegy" from Terminate Damnation (2005)

5/5. A true metalcore epic that can fit well in a battle between Heaven and Hell. I would recommend it to any metalhead, whether or not they're Christian.

Aviana - "Obsession" from Corporation (2022)

4.5/5. Get ready for some more of this heavy metalcore fire! It can't surpass Lorna Shore's idea of making heaviness beautiful, but it comes f***ing close.

Thrown - "Fast Forward" from EXTENDED PAIN (2022)

4/5. Thrown can easily fast forward through face-smacking metalcore in just two minutes. The screamed lyrics actually sound so clear.

Chelsea Grin - "Forever Bloom (feat. Trevor Strnad)" from Suffer in Hell (2022)

4.5/5. RIP Trevor Strnad. I felt up to paying tribute to this melodeath vocalist with 3 deathcore songs featuring him. His vocals sound so crazily brutal here, though I also enjoy Tom Barber's vocal contributions.

Shadow of Intent - "Barren and Breathless Macrocosm" from Melancholy (2019)

5/5. Here's the second Trevor Strnad-featured track, this one practically surpassing the previous one. Insane drumming and vocals here! The riffing reminds of early Whitechapel, especially during the cinematic ending.

Traitors - "Burnout" from Night Terrors (2015)

4.5/5. And here's the 3rd Trevor Strnad-featured track, which is f***ing great, though the previous one is still the best of the trio. Once again, RIP...

Lorna Shore - "FVNERAL MOON" from Flesh Coffin (2017)

5/5. Up next is this great highlight. There are two breakdowns that would burst out of nowhere and crush your bones, then you're pulled back into speedy soloing and fantastic riffing. A much better balance than that small fraction of their debut!

Aurorawave - "KINDNESS. (with Attila)" from Aurorawave (2024)

4.5/5. Now how about some reggae-infused metalcore featuring Fronz from Attila?! Every listen is as great as the first!

Memphis May Fire - "The American Dream" from Remade in Misery (2022)

4.5/5. One word: AMERICA!!!!!!!

Ice Nine Kills - "Rocking the Boat" from The Silver Scream (2018)

5/5. This highlight is based on Jaws and features original member Jeremy Schwartz, name-drops all of the band previous albums and The Burning EP, and has a killer metalcore breakdown.

It Dies Today - "Son of Dawn" from Son of Dawn (2024)

4.5/5. This year was really the perfect time for someone who hasn't listened to American metalcore during its peak years of the 2000s to discover this band, right when they're making a comeback. Their new single certainly has the greatness of their debut!

The Devil Wears Prada - "To the Key of Evergreen" from Transit Blues (2016)

5/5. A perfect piece of metalcore with a beautiful soft bridge. Enough said!

Imminence - "The Seventh Seal" from I (2014)

4.5/5. This band is still amazing metalcore fans throughout the 10 years since their debut.

Bury Tomorrow - "Heretic (feat. Loz Taylor)" from The Seventh Sun (2023)

5/5. Bury Tomorrow's 7th album has some of the best tracks to remind me of Invent Animate and While She Sleeps. Speaking of the latter, I love the guest appearance by that band's lead vocalist Loz Taylor, though the intense harsh vocals of Daniel Winter-Bates and gritty clean vocals of Tom Prendergast work as well. A d*mn perfect banger!

Pridelands - "Antipathy" from Light Bends (2022)

4.5/5. Pridelands seems to have adopted the ambient metalcore stylings of Thornhill that was abandoned after that band's debut The Dark Pool, and it shows all the way up to the killer breakdown. It shall fuel your metalcore ears with f***ing fire! Sharptone is a great home for many impressive modern metalcore bands and their releases. The fire cools down slightly at the two and a half minute mark, then lights up f***ing higher with brutal vocals in front of a d*mn bouncy groove. Then the killer breakdown comes on.

We Came as Romans - "Cold Like War" from Cold Like War (2017)

5/5. One of the best songs I've heard from this band and melodic metalcore! Imagine skydiving while listening to this perfect song. Still missing you, Kyle Pavone. RIP

As I Lay Dying - "The Cave We Fear to Enter" from The Cave We Fear to Enter (2024)

4.5/5. As I Lay Dying is not dead yet, but it might as well be, considering all the members except Tim Lambesis have just left the band, mere weeks before the scheduled release of their upcoming album Through Storms Ahead. Nonetheless, the band's signature melodic metalcore sound has been shining since their second album Frail Words Collapse. And songs like this one empower me with strength. I have a great feeling about this album that might possibly be the band's swansong offering. I sometimes wonder what this song would sound like with their classic lineup though.

Varials - ".50" from Scars for You to Remember (2022)

5/5. The music and vocals are so savage here! Mitchell Rogers switching from lead guitar to lead vocals was a clever move because of how hard his vocals can hit.

Hatebreed - "Shut Me Out" from For the Lions (2009)

4.5/5. Jamey Jasta's vocals crash through in a f***ing hardcore blitz in this Sick of It All cover you'll never get sick of.

Make Them Suffer - "27" from 27 (2018)

4/5. D*mn, those lyrics can break you apart then build you back up again!

Car Bomb - "Cellophane Stiletto" from Centralia (2007)

3.5/5. Things go as crazy as Fantomas in this one.

Iwrestledabearonce - "The Cat's Pajamas" from It's All Happening (2009)

4/5. If there are people out there who think I've missed on metalcore/mathcore during its peak era of the late 2000s, let me ask them something. Were they 25-year-old metalcore listeners writing comments about tracks in playlists back then? Probably, but either way, this kind of music is timeless!

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Like a Cat" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear (2005)

4.5/5. "What is the point of laying in a comfortable position if you can't fall asleep in it?" That sounds like another good question to relate to the past, "What is the point of reliving the past if you can't stay in it?", something I would ask those people I've mentioned in the above comment. Hardcore can have so many changes within a song.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Big Pun's Not Dead Because I Just Saw Him at Krispy Kreme" from The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza (2005)

4/5. All right, I admit it... The rapping parts are quite amusing like "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" (that aged poorly 15 years later) and "Life is so trivial... I'm cryin' in my cereal..." But I, along with the more serious metalheads around here, am here for the main mathcore song. This might remind some of Into the Moat, which I should really check out someday. I guess I could've ended this playlist slightly better....

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here's my review summary:

The title is already a giveaway about the modern updates provided to the concepts of their 1992 album Pure. Long-time fans and pretty much anyone familiar with the band's earlier material can definitely recognize the Pure sound, almost like these two albums can be connected! I'm sure some listeners can recognize some of the more classic tracks from the Pure album. Broadrick and Green's task at hand since the beginning is to unleash the robotic rhythms that have shaped up industrial metal. Also looking back at the 80s/90s is the occasional hip-hop-ish groove that can ensure the album's variety without sounding too odd. Many of the tracks throw back to the glory days of Streetcleaner with the hammering and screeching guitars alongside the harsh vocals of Broadrick. The diversity in the heaviness adds to their bleak aura. Purge is not an album that I would expect to have that past glory, while it comes close to being the best album of the new era!

4.5/5.

Recommended tracks: "Land Lord", "Army of Non", "The Father", "You are the Judge, the Jury, and the Executioner"

For fans of: GOD, Jesu, Ministry

With only two months left for 2024, it's time to look back at the releases throughout this year and see which ones are well-deserved highlights. For one of my clans, I haven't really encountered many Sphere releases from this year, but the ones I have are amazing, ranging between 4 and 5 stars. Here's my top 5 of 2024:

1. Turmion Kätilöt - Reset

2. Gothminister - Pandemonium II - The Battle of the Underworlds

3. Pain - I Am

4. Bad Omens - Concrete Jungle (The OST)

5. Motionless in White - Reincarnate: 10 Year Anniversary

Any releases this year from this clan that you enjoy, enough for a top 5 or top 10 or more? Discuss!

With only two months left for 2024, it's time to look back at the releases throughout this year and see which ones are well-deserved highlights. For one of my clans, The Revolution has spawned awesome releases, several of which reach a perfect 5 stars. Here's my top 10 of 2024:

1. In Hearts Wake - Incarnation

2. Crossfaith - AЯK

3. Like Moths to Flames - The Cycles of Trying to Cope

4. Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To

5. Imminence - The Black

6. The Ghost Inside - Searching for Solace

7. ERRA - Cure

8. Amaranthe - The Catalyst

9. Within the Ruins - Phenomena II

10. Attack Attack! - Disaster

Albums that haven't been released yet, but will check out and might update my list:

Cane Hill - A Piece of Me I Never Let You Find

The Browning - OMNI

Make Them Suffer - Make Them Suffer

As I Lay Dying - Through Storms Ahead

Any releases this year from this clan that you enjoy, enough for a top 5 or top 10 or more? Discuss!

With only two months left for 2024, it's time to look back at the releases throughout this year and see which ones are well-deserved highlights. For one of my clans, I haven't really encountered many Infinite releases from this year, but the ones I have are fantastic, reaching 4.5 or 5 stars. Here's my top 5 of 2024:

1. Madder Mortem - Old Eyes, New Heart

2. SUMAC - The Healer

3. Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer

4. Northlane - Mirror's Edge

5. ERRA - Cure

Albums that haven't been released yet, but will check out and might update my list:

VOLA - Friend of a Phantom (quite curious about this band after hearing one of their songs in an Infinite playlist)

Opeth - The Last Will and Testament (feeling up to checking out Opeth's comeback album and see if this possible return to their deathly progressive metal roots is enough to make me up for this band again)

Any releases this year from this clan that you enjoy, enough for a top 5 or top 10 or more? Discuss!

With only two months left for 2024, it's time to look back at the releases throughout this year and see which ones are well-deserved highlights. For one of my clans, The Gateway has spawned amazing releases, with one of them reaching a perfect 5 stars from me despite the amount of hate it's received. Here's my top 10 of 2024:

1. Falling in Reverse - Popular Monster

2. Imminence - The Black

3. Northlane - Mirror's Edge

4. While She Sleeps - Self Hell

5. Wage War - Stigma

6. Devin Townsend - PowerNerd

7. Attack Attack! - Disaster

8. Bring Me the Horizon - Post Human: NeX GEn

9. Pain - I Am

10. Bad Omens - Concrete Jungle (The OST)

Albums that haven't been released yet, but will check out and might update my list:

Cane Hill - A Piece of Me I Never Let You Find

Linkin Park - From Zero (feeling up to checking out Linkin Park's comeback album, will add if 1. it's great enough to reach my top 10, and 2. if it qualifies as metal enough to be added to the site)

Any releases this year from this clan that you enjoy, enough for a top 5 or top 10 or more? Discuss!

This nomination has been passed.

https://metal.academy/hall/537

https://metal.academy/hall/536

https://metal.academy/hall/535

This nomination has been passed.

I decided that I'll stop doing my monthly playlist total ratings in this thread, because they're all pretty much the same and haven't caused much discussion. All I'm gonna say about this month is, my playlists and songs I've listened to from Saxy's playlists have paid off again with a rating of 4.5 stars each. I recommend them to any fan of the clans' respective genres and anyone who isn't into those genres but wants to get into a great start in enjoying them. Thanks, Daniel, for accepting these playlists, and good work all!

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Everyone's gotta have past trauma sometime in their life. Even I had these kinds of painful experiences in the past. Sometimes you gotta battle those harrowing struggles or just accept them. You might get to move on, but if you're unable to do so, there are better ways in life than just taking the devastating but painless way out. Black Veil Brides' melodic metalcore debut will motivate you by detailing the somber sorrow while giving it optimistic light. It's the greatest the band has even been, alongside their 10th anniversary re-recording which I won't review because I'm not up for reviewing full-on album re-recordings. Andy Biersack can performed pleasant vocals, both cleans and screams. His cleans had yet to improve in quality, but that doesn't stop the perfect glory of this album. The drums and guitarwork are so catchy with enjoyable energy. The metaphorical motivational lyrics fit perfectly for anyone in the most dire situations. So if you're feeling down, overcome your struggles and look for as much help as you can. And this grand masterpiece of motivation can help be your savior!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "We Stitch These Wounds", "Beautiful Remains", "Perfect Weapon", "Knives and Pens", "All Your Hate", "Never Give In"

For fans of: The mid-2000s eras of Avenged Sevenfold, A Day to Remember, and Trivium

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Gothminister - "Stonehenge" from Anima Inferna (2011)

5/5. The opening track for its original album and playlist begins with heavy guitar crunch and interesting synth harmonies. Then the guitars calm down to let Brem's baritone vocals shine. Sounds quite evil for a then-recently-married and domestically happy man, proving his ability to maintain the earlier darkness. Optimistic lyrics ain't gonna make the gloomy vocals fade away in this battle of life and death.

Blue Stahli - "Prognosis" from Obsidian (2021)

5/5. The effects and lyrics astonish me, and I'm certainly up for more of this music from Blue Stahli.

Killing Joke - "Aeon" from Democracy (1996)

4.5/5. This 8-minute epic has a spectacular mix of the band's new wave/post-punk sound from the 80s with the industrial rock/metal style that shaped up Pandemonium. Probably the best song of its original album and by the band!

The Amenta - "Plague of Locus" from Plague of Locus (2023)

4/5. The title track of this Amenta cover album is its second original track, this one being a full song. The brutality hits hard with heavy riffs, synths, and vocals, growing harder as the song progresses.

Megaherz - "Kopf Durch Die Wand" from Wer Bist Du (1997)

3.5/5. Pretty nice, but as always, NDH isn't really for me. Next!

Eisbrecher - "Bombe" from Eiszeit (2010)

4/5. Quite the bomb, but still missing a bit of impact.

OOMPH! - "Sandmann" from Monster (2008)

4.5/5. The lyrics are quite interesting as they detail the horrors of children disappearing in Germany while Hungary has them all protected.

Motionless in White - "America" from Infamous (2012)

5/5. This awesome highlight expands the band's sound yet again. This is more like the gothic industrial metal of Gothminister, especially the deeper cleans in the verses. Michael Vampire of Vampires Everywhere! sings together with Chris in a sing-along gang chorus, one of the best of the genre! That song can definitely reach the hard rock/metal charts. America, F*** YEAH!!!!

Marilyn Manson - "The Nobodies" from Holy Wood (2000)

4.5/5. The lyrics for this song are quite deep as well, addressing the Columbine shooters whom the band was falsely accusing of influencing, and the song title taking a quote from John Lennon's murderer. A remix would appear next year in the film From Hell starring Johnny Depp.

Deathstars - "Metal" from The Greatest Hits on Earth (2011)

4/5. A great piece of cyber/industrial metal from the masters of the genre.

Genitorturers - "Falling Stars" from Blackheart Revolution (2009)

3.5/5. Then we have another nice alt-ish anthem that's more melodic while still heavy. The guitar distortion of their 90s material is blended with an old-school rhythm that can easily be tapped by tambourine.

Samael - "Us" from Eternal (1999)

4/5. This one soars through the industrial metal cosmos once again with a memorable chorus despite it being a bit too noise-ridden in the background.

KMFDM - "From Here on Out" from WWIII (2003)

4.5/5. "Don't risk your life and the lives of your comrades. Leave now and go home, watch your children learn." I enjoy those lyrics sung by Lucia Cifarelli in an excellent that can be both relaxing and kick-A.

In This Moment - "Fly Like an Eagle" from Mother (2020)

5/5. The band took a Steve Miller song and covered it to make it dark and beautiful. Maria Brink's vocal power is incredible! The intro itself is almost a cover of the Terminator theme. I f***ing love it!

Mnemic - "There's No Tomorrow" from Mnemesis (2012)

5/5. What really brings the band back to a time 25 years before this album is "There's No Tomorrow", the 6-minute epic that almost sounds like a power ballad ala Bon Jovi/Dokken. There's even a beautiful guitar soloing crescendo. Of course, the brutal growls are still in great passion.

Diabolos Rising - "Genocide-I Am God" from 666 (1994)

4.5/5. Creepy yet excellent blackened industrial metal right here, though I would never have listened to this in my early teen years.

Nik Nocturnal, Our Mirage - "NEIN!" (Rammstein parody track) from How to Metal, Vol. 1 (2023)

4/5. Any Rammstein-inspired song should end up in a Sphere playlist without a doubt. Slightly better than most of the songs from the band parodied here.

The Interbeing - "Perplexion" from Icon of the Hopeless (2022)

4.5/5. This one kicks up the heaviness like an upgrade from Fear Factory and Mnemic in the riffing while making room for the epic melodic chorus. Often the riffing takes a turn from industrial metal to leaning close to metalcore, which actually opens up more outer dimensions in the music-verse.

Tyrant of Death - "Gone Too Far" from Superior Firepower (2019)

4/5. Another f***ing sick cyber metal banger that shall take you through an alternate reality. It's so heavily stellar!

Mechina - "Tartarus" from Xenon (2014)

4.5/5. You can swim through different dimensions ranging from cyber to deathly, as a saga unfolds, almost competing with Marvel, Star Wars, and even The Elder Scrolls. A truly dark and ethereal collision!

Psyclon Nine - "Order of the Shadow (The Heretic Awakened)" from Order of the Shadow: Act 1 (2013)

4.5/5. F***ing amazing as h*ll this song is, probably the best of its original album! It is lightyears beyond the aggrotech sound of their debut. It would've been perfect if Nero Bellum's high shrieks had better improvement.

Celldweller - "Birthright" from Wish Upon a Blackstar (2012)

5/5. A slightly better one, and perhaps the best one of Wish Upon a Blackstar. Klayton is a true master of modern electro-industrial rock/metal!

Front Line Assembly - "Surface Patterns" from Millennium (1994)

4.5/5. This one uses samples from songs by other metal bands, with this one using that famous riff from "Walk" by Pantera, followed by "Don't Tread On Me" by Metallica.

Godhead - "Anybody Else" from Evolver (2003)

4.5/5. Excellent track, but I'm better off anywhere else.

Ruoska - "Rumavirsi" from Radium (2005)

5/5. D*mn awesome sh*t from this Finnish industrial metal band. Here's to another album in the future!

Ministry - "Ricky's Hand" from HOPIUM FOR THE MASSES (2024)

4.5/5. Sounds like Ministry is going back to their 90s/early 2000s material with this cover of an 80s synthpop hit. A bit more prominent guitar would've been necessary for me and the rest of the metal audience.

Napalm Death - "Contemptuous" from Utopia Banished (1992)

4/5. Ending this playlist is the second Napalm Death track suggestion submitted by Daniel, the first one from the Sphere playlist exactly one year ago. Sounds like the band has a little more creative freedom when experimenting with shoegaze-ish industrial metal. The band's usual violent deathgrind has been turned away for bleak industrial darkness of Godflesh. The riffing has beautiful atmosphere before leading into the final fading bass chords. I personally would pick this one and that other submission, "Evolved as One", over their more well-known grind that I'm not up for.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Shadow of Intent - "We Descend" from Reclaimer (2017)

5/5. I didn't think an album intro would be the missing spark needed to finally to get me fully interested in Shadow of Intent, but here we are. The first 20 seconds consists of beautiful melancholic piano, then the heaviness builds up, reaching it's high point in the breakdown for the last 30 seconds. This is two minutes of my life I wanna repeat! How the f*** have I missed this in my life?!

As I Lay Dying - "Within Destruction" from An Ocean Between Us (2007)

4.5/5. I made that intro segue into this killer metalcore song to love.

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Hey Girl!! Why Not Party Like a Bitch!?" from Dance & Scream (2010)

4.5/5. Some say this divine brand of dance-core is sh*t, I say it's THE sh*t! This party's gonna rule like a b***h!

Motionless in White - "Black Damask (The Fog)" from Infamous (2012)

5/5. Like that Shadow of Intent intro, this song starts with soft somber piano, then when you least expect it, it switches to an intense head-ripping assault of vocals, guitars, and drums. The chorus is where the expected clean vocals come in greater range than in their debut. The perfect stage-setter!

MAYFLOWER - "Save Me" from Misery (2022)

4.5/5. Another excellent banger! I enjoy both the screamed verses and the clean choruses.

Hollow Front - "The Price of Dreaming" from The Price of Dreaming (2022)

4.5/5. Yet another killer banger! This one has a nice music video centered around a ballerina.

Make Them Suffer - "Oscillator" from Oscillator (2024)

5/5. Make Them Suffer can make kick-A tracks worth headbanging to. This and the other singles like "Doomswitch" makes me look forward to their self-titled album big time.

Lorna Shore - "Hollow Sentence" from Immortal (2020)

5/5. This one is a brilliant vocal battle between the growling of the one-man army that is McCreery vs. a multi-person choir, almost like a vocal exchange. There are huge dramatic theatrics while staying menacing. The riffing is also impressive, alternating between the slow breakdown and sledgehammering sections.

Impending Doom - "Nailed. Dead. Risen." from Nailed. Dead. Risen. (2007)

4.5/5. "NAILED. DEAD. RISEN!!!!!" Sometimes, even Heaven can reach the height of brutality. The band's deathcore was a lot more death than core back then. The breakdown at the last minute would certainly fit well for God striking down the hordes of Satan.

The Contortionist - "Advent" from Exoplanet (2010)

4/5. Beauty and brutality sound good together, especially at over the 30-second mark when you get to "ESCAPE!!!" through the cosmos. The breakdown-ish bridge that starts the last minute is out of this world.

Advents - "Stigma" from Advents (2022)

4.5/5. Check out these excellent vocals! Both the singing in the chorus and the screaming go down hard. This banger is cool as sh*t!

Void of Vision - "Blood for Blood" from Blood for Blood (2024)

4/5. ANOTHER HEAVY F***ING BANGER!!!! This oughta level up this playlist greatly.

Avenged Sevenfold - "The Art of Subconscious Illusion" from Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)

4.5/5. G****mn it, M. Shadows' wife Valary DiBenedetto should've joined the band full-time as their screaming vocalist. With her demonic shrieks, A7X would've continued their metalcore sound at ease after Shadows decided to stop screaming following Waking the Fallen. Valary's screams come midway through the song, though the "This can't be happening" part is also brilliant, as well as the intro sounding like that Call of Duty song "115". Pretty much a lot has happened in the first couple minutes that band never had the chance to replicate ever since.

From First to Last - "Dead Trees" from Dead Trees (2014)

4/5. One of two singles from First to Last's heaviest album, this one is a powerful metallic throwback to the mid-2000s post-hardcore scene embraced by similar bands.

Trivium - "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" from Ascendancy (2005)

4.5/5. This one unleashes a pummeling double bass drum rhythm leading into a ferocious verse and a pre-chorus decimating break.

Bury Your Dead - "Burn Baby Burn" from You Had Me at Hello (2001)

5/5. The more hardcore of metalcore is still going f***ing strong from the 1990s/2000s to the present day. Apparently, this track has a demo version that's twice as long.

Wolves at the Gate - "Weight of Glory" from Eulogies (2022)

4.5/5. Nick Detty's vocals shine as he screams about battling the darkest times of the world. New guitarist Joey Alarcon has made sure the band's fans' faith isn't lost. I'm glad to add this banger to the playlist! Once again, Christian lyrics can fit so well in the heavy metalcore fire. A gym workout can end up being a fight to the death between man and machine. It almost has the same impact as Polaris' "Landmine".

Memphis May Fire - "Cowbell's Makin' a Comeback" from Memphis May Fire (2007)

5/5. Memphis May Fire had more of a Southern metalcore/post-hardcore sound in the beginning. While Matty Mullins would always be the heart and soul of the band from the debut album onwards, former vocalist Chase Ryan Robbins has more spunk. I'm a little surprised someone with a voice sounding so young is already a father, and he left the band to prioritizing his parenting duties. Cowbells are more common in hard rock/glam metal, a path that, unfortunately, a similar metalcore band Black Veil Brides ended up taking. This song and EP is quite underrated. Maybe add a little a bit of piano there? I don't know... And if you're wondering where the h*ll the cowbell is, it's right at the midway point. No chance for Chase to ever make a comeback...

Monuments - "97% Static" from Gnosis (2012)

4.5/5. I can't believe I never thought about checking out this band and album until recently. Here we have some djenty power, with vocals that are both pure and raw despite sounding closer to Rage Against the Machine. This shall give the playlist a greater kick.

LIMBS - "Spirit Breaker" from Coma Year (2022)

4/5. The chorus near the one-minute mark shall get you pumped and jumping. I would recommend this song for any fan of Architects and Currents. It's quite g****mn interesting, and while I love the heavy verses, the clean vocals are wonderful in the chorus and bridge. Once again, we have some f***ing well-done metalcore here. I wonder how many people thought this was a song by Spirit Breaker called "Limbs". No matter how much confusion this might cause, the formula of heaviness and cleanliness is bound to win some new fans.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

4.5/5. This one has impeccable tightness with guitars of tangling destruction, then just when you think the band has settled their sound into sanity, the sound rises into an amp-ruining wall of noise.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Go Greyhound" from Danza II The Electric Boogaloo (2007)

4.5/5. This mathcore band has made another insane riot, all the way up to the lovely ending, apparently from the film Flowers in the Attic. This f***ing chaotic sh*t can hit you like a truck then revive you. There should be more guitar shredding though.

Car Bomb - "Garrucha" from w^w^^w^w (2012)

5/5. This highlight sounds so easy in the even-time patterns, yet emphasized by the grinding machinery of the percussion, crushing riffs that are already crushing.

Bloom - "Sink Into the Soil" from Sink Into the Soil (2022)

4.5/5. Sometimes metalcore can be more of a way of life than a temporary phase. I can hear the raging melody of Counterparts.

Rorschach - "Blinders" from Protestant (1993)

5/5. One of the best early metalcore breakdowns occurs here.

Knocked Loose - "Mistakes Like Fractures" from A Different Shade of Blue (2019)

4.5/5. Absolutely killer violent hardcore/metalcore with relatable lyrics. The bass at over the 30-second mark I would give a thumbs-up to. It's like a more brutal take on Slipknot's "Psychosocial". Anyone brought here by that Spongebob "GARY!" video?

Unearth - "No Reprisal" from Extinction(s) (2018)

4/5. This one tones down the mayhem in favor of shining melodic riff power. The heavy momentum is elevated through blast beats and a groove pace.

Within the Ruins - "Ataxia IV" from Halfway Human (2017)

4.5/5. Quite odd how this instrumental would be deemed "explicit", but whatevs. The "Ataxia" tracks are epic djent-core journeys, and this is probably the best of them all. Over the one-minute mark is what sounds like a brief take on the Tetris theme. The band's 7-string guitars are tuned quite low. The final two-minute section begins reminding some of Infected Mushroom, and it reaches a chilling climax at the last minute that starts fading out. That final section definitely fits well for a boss battle. It's a shame the band didn't continue the "Ataxia" series in their new album Phenomena II. The piano is a bit out of place, which brings the score a half-star down from perfection.

August Burns Red - "Reckoning" from Death Below (2023)

5/5. The second 8-minute epic of the new August Burns Red album. I know you metalcore fans wanna hear Underoath vocalist Spencer Chamberlain unleashing his vocals as furious as early Bring Me the Horizon. Those make the best moments of this playlist!

Ice Nine Kills - "Farewell II Flesh" from Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 (2021)

5/5. Of course, we have one more song to celebrate the spooky month of Halloween, the longest INK song at 5 minutes since the debut's "Family Unties", based on Candyman, with soothing yet eerie piano as the story of the Candyman is introduced. After layers of dramatic atmosphere, more layers come in thanks to the other instruments that create metalcore riffing from the guitars. Then after all those strings, heaviness, and growls, cue more bee noises to end the album and playlist.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here's my review summary:

Falling in Reverse is one of the least liked bands in rock/metal, maybe even the world. All the hate is pointed towards frontman Ronnie Radke. Now as I've said before, I'm the kind of person who doesn't put direct association between art and artist. Just because someone is considered a total d*ck doesn't mean their music is automatically dogsh*t. Though exceptions can be made for those known for more serious stuff like murder and Nazism (Burzum's Varg Vikernes would qualify in both categories). Some music you can enjoy without thinking too much about one of the band members and what they've done, but we live in a world where people can easily put you down for something you like, which is what this site is supposed to prevent. With that said... I F***ING LOVE POPULAR MONSTER!!! That's right, I said it! Anyone can hate this album and the band, but personally, I find no reason to give it a thumbs-down, and that's my true opinion. I can witness a lot of talent from Radke and co. with their respective roles. 3 quarters of the album was already pre-released as singles, but they certainly shape it all up, and a good feeling was already made from the millions of streams some of the singles has earned. This proves that no matter how shunned a band can get, they can sweep the globe. A good metaphorical meaning behind the title of this monstrously grand album, Popular Monster. Even a rap metal track can expand into something climatic and epic. And when there's a metalcore track striking down, it strikes down HARD. And the more oddball tracks here, such as a country metal hoedown and an emotional strings-only cover of a Papa Roach hit, are actually pretty good. Popular Monster may not be for a lot of music listeners, but it certainly opened my ears to the talent for Falling in Reverse. It's honestly quite a unique album in the metal and hardcore realms. This experimental alt-metal style is something done in different ways by bands like Sleep Token and Bad Omens, yet Falling in Reverse step in with a more diverse mix. If anyone doesn't want anything to do with this album or band, they have their own ways. Just know that one man's sh*t is another man's treasure. One of modern alt-metal gold!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Prequel", "Popular Monster", "Ronald", "Watch the World Burn", "Zombified", "No Fear"

For fans of: Jeris Johnson, Bad Omens, Linkin Park

https://metal.academy/hall/534

https://metal.academy/hall/533

I've done my review, here's its summary:

By the mid-2000s, djent was still starting off low-key. We have the originator, Meshuggah, and Sikth made their entrance with their djenty progressive metal sound. Named after an instrumental from Cynic's debut Focus, Textures was determined to give their music the many aspects and layers including djenty guitars. And it all starts with their debut Polars, their only album with talented ex-vocalist Pieter Verpaalen. RIP... There's no underestimating the complexity of this music. As often done by Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan, heavy aggression and soft relaxation are covered in different grounds of sonic emotion. In the short tracks and the 18-minute title epic, there's everything including minimalistic riffing, clean vocal harmonies, and the deathly djent of Meshuggah. Practically all you can ask for from the band. Polaris would've been as glorious as their subsequent albums if not for that final overlong ambient track....

4/5

Recommended tracks: "Ostensibly Impregnable", "Young Man", "The Barrier", "Polars"

For fans of: Meshuggah, Periphery, Sikth

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Blue Stahli - "ULTRAnumb" from Blue Stahli (2011)

5/5. If anyone who's a fan of Blue Stahli and Celldweller tells me they're a fan of any one of those artists since they were in their 20s, I would believe them. This also qualifies for me, and I've only just became interested in Blue Stahli via his classic singles of strong fire, like this one.

Celldweller - "Switchback" from Celldweller (2003) (2024 Definitive Edition)

5/5. A classic released two decades ago and still sounds fresh in this Definitive Edition! The more material I find from Celldweller, the less likely I'm able to SWITCHBACK.

Ministry - "Alert Level (Quarantined Mix)" from Alert Level (Quarantined Mix) (2020)

4.5/5. Is there much difference between this version and the one on Moral Hygiene. I suppose this one is slightly better. "How concerned are you?"

Strapping Young Lad - "All Hail the New Flesh" from City (1997)

5/5. This one's a d*mn great hammerer! The legendary Gene Hoglan performs an intense drumming avalanche through this noisy cacophony whirlpool and the aggressive vocal cyclone from Devy, though his clean vocals help keep you in safe shelter alongside the keys. Townsend can really show us his insane vision of extreme industrial metal. He yells "ALL YOU ARE IS ALL YOU ARE!" in an uplifting chorus before more brilliant riffs and keyboards. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!

Pain - "Follow Me" from Cynic Paradise (2008)

4.5/5. Amazing song with the serene singing of ex-Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon. "No gold at the end of the rainbow..."

White Zombie - "Feed the Gods" from Feed the Gods (1994) (based on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future compilation (2003))

4/5. White Zombie made this song for the movie Airheads. Their music has been featured in shows and movies before, like Beavis and Butthead. Cool lyrics too!

Samael - "Into the Pentagram (new version)" from Rebellion (1995)

4.5/5. I love this remake more than the original! The guitars and beats are greatly paced. Excellent!

Acumen Nation - "Djentrify" from Territory=Universe (1996)

4/5. When I first saw the name of this song, I thought, "An early example of djent besides Meshuggah!?!?" Although it turned out not to be, it's still quite catchy.

Dodheimsgard - "Horrorizon" from Supervillain Outcast (2007)

4.5/5. This shall please the ears of any experimental industrial metal fan.

The Amenta - "Nihil" from Occasus (2004)

5/5. One of the greater highlights of The Amenta's debut actually sounds melodic without too much dissonance.

Painkiller - "Buried Secrets" from Buried Secrets (1992)

4.5/5. This one relies less on the d*mn saxophone plaguing this release and features guest appearances by Godflesh, both members with their metal instrumentation and all.

Killing Joke - "Slipstream" from Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions (1990)

4/5. This one has a more progressive spirit that makes up for the earlier bumpiness.

Nailbomb - "Wasting Away" from Point Blank (1994)

4.5/5. Right from the start, this track blasts through speedy riffing and Max's signature growls, "Carve your rights into your arm so that they don't get taken away". HOLY SH*T, that's the kind of raging hate you would expect from Arise. It has made me positive that the album is filled with more anger than I've ever heard before.

Aborym - "Harsh and Educational" from Hostile (2021)

5/5. Consider me educated more in the industrial metal world!

Dimension F3H - "Betrayer" from Reaping the World Winds (2003)

4.5/5. Anyone looking for some dark mysterious industrial metal on Spotify, here you go.

Bile - "Built to Fuck, Born to Kill" from Built to Fuck, Born to Kill (2014)

4/5. And how about some more f***ing killer industrial metal not for the faint of heart.

OOMPH! - "Wut (feat. Joachim Witt)" from Richter und Henker (2023)

3.5/5. This isn't really one of my favorite songs, but the chorus is one of the best I've heard in NDH.

Obsydians - "Slaughter of Decency" from Slaughter of Decency (2022)

4/5. Obsydians is another side-project with members of Sybreed, and they have collaborated with different musicians of the metal scene, this one being Dark Funeral vocalist Heljarmadr. Fear Factory, Mnemic, and Deathstars should be next! This is definitely like a blackened Sybreed, and it gets more brutal around halfway through. Cyber black metal can having f***ing great results. Not even Slave Design can beats this single's heaviness. Though it would've been great if Sybreed vocalist Benjamin Nominet could appear here with his vocals. You can also think about this like Samael gone Scar Symmetry.

The Interbeing - "Face Deletion" from Edge of the Obscure (2011)

4.5/5. One of the f***ing best songs from this band that I can't believe barely any people have heard of.

Illidiance - "Breaking the Habit" from Breaking the Habit (2019)

4/5. This kick-A cover of a Linkin Park hit has really done that song justice, though it would've been better if the vocals were louder in the mix. RIP Chester Bennington

Northlane - "Paradigm" from Alien (2019)

4.5/5. This fearless track has more of the heaviness and screaming that's definitely worth playing live. With a lot going on, hearing this song is much more of an experience than a listen.

Fear Factory - "Resurrection" from Obsolete (1998)

5/5. A superb melodic standout anthem with a mighty chorus and riffing.

Corrections House - "Drapes Hung by Jesus" from Last City Zero (2013)

4.5/5. The most unforgiving music and lyrics come straight with this epic. An ambient intro leads into industrial metal that gradually becomes heavier, plus some eerie sax, before the last bit of lyrical poetry at the end.

Lord of the Lost - "Ruins" from Thornstar (2018)

4/5. Finally, we end this playlist with this dark yet upbeat track, with many different moments to admire.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a slight drop in quality somewhere. Anyway, I recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Trivium - "Kirisute Gomen" from Shogun (2008)

5/5. Now this is a pretty effective way to begin this playlist and the song's original album. It begins with an acoustic Japanese guitar intro that is the same melody as the chorus for the epic title track. Then a gong is hit, followed by taiko drums kicking in, and I was amazed by the guitar build-up leading to the song itself drilling in some killer thrashy verses with vocals alternating between clean and growling (for the first time used in a common basis since Ascendancy), and a memorable chorus.

Damnation A.D. - "No More Dreams" from No More Dreams of Happy Endings (1995)

4.5/5. One of only a couple surviving highlights of this Damnation A.D. album, this is one of the darkest and heaviest songs I've heard in early metalcore.

For the Fallen Dreams - "Stone" from Six (2018)

5/5. This explosive single is worth singing and screaming along to, especially in that massive chorus with layers of power from their heavy metalcore/hardcore sound. It is a true blessing to remind us about what metalcore used to be and revive the earlier scene.

Demon Hunter - "On My Side" from War (2019)

4/5. This one also keeps up the metalcore aspect with drilling guitars and drum kicks alongside Ryan Clark's rock vocals.

Annisokay - "Face the Facts" from Aurora (2021)

4.5/5. A strong banger from another underrated band!

Counterparts - "Bound to the Burn" from A Eulogy for Those Still Here (2022)

4/5. You're bound to find some sick metal/hardcore from this band, though it might take slightly more to convince me.

Caliban - "Moment of Clarity" from The Undying Darkness (2006)

3.5/5. One of the most thrashy metalcore songs I've heard, helped out by the guest vocals of Kreator's Mille Petrozza. Could've been better though...

Vein.fm - "Untitled" from Errorzone (2018)

4/5. Even at one minute and with no title, lots of strong emotion and anger can burst right out. Errorzone is an album that can go back and forth from Deftones to Converge, maybe even early Bring Me the Horizon.

Knocked Loose - "Suffocate (feat. Poppy)" from You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024)

4.5/5. HOLY SH*T, what a brutal banger! It has as much impact as an uppercut to the jaw. Poppy unleashes her vicious screams greater than going Super Saiyan, the intensity reaching its high point at the two-minute mark.

Job for a Cowboy - "Entombment of a Machine" from Doom (2005)

5/5. My favorite track of the Doom EP, with some riffing and breakdowns I really enjoy, including that final devastating one at the end. The song also has rare audibility in bass and common usage of horror imagery in the lyrics.

Embodyment – "Swine" from Embrace The Eternal (1998)

4.5/5. This one swings through like a pendulum. Enough said!

Damaged - "Breathe Deep" from Purified in Pain (2000)

4.5/5. This one truly shows the extreme/melodic blend early deathcore has to offer.

Sikth - "How May I Help You" from The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild (2003)

5/5. The EP version has a slightly greater edge, but the album version is still perfect all the same. At least the story of Rodney is still done justice in this f***ing brilliant song.

Converge - "In Her Shadow" from You Fail Me (2004)

4.5/5. This longer song is a calm yet soon experimental acoustic break going on for...6 MINUTES?! Not quite my cup of tea, but I'll go with it. This will help me relax before the heaviness of this playlist returns shortly later.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You" - "Remembrance Dialogue" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear (2005)

4/5. People who have listened to this revolutionary band may have heard them as early as in their middle/high school years, but I only started listening to them just a couple years before this comment. This might work as a funeral song. Even when it's soft, it can be quite powerful. The guitar tone and how chill it is brings it closer to AFI though. I'm glad #12 is still around and active.

Saviour - "Jaded" from First Light to My Death Bed (2013)

4.5/5. From the intro to the end, beauty and heaviness sound so good together.

Void of Vision - "Lifeblood" from Broken // Bones (2014)

5/5. Man I want more of the frantic chaos of this band!

Polaris - "All of This is Fleeting" from The Death of Me (2020)

4.5/5. Crashing through again is this deep track. Twisting things up well is an ultra-heavy breakdown after those frantic verses and dramatic chorus.

Memphis May Fire - "Only Human (feat. AJ Channer)" from Remade in Misery (2022)

5/5. Guest vocalists can give almost any song more life, in this case, AJ Channer of Fire from the Gods.

Ankor - "Prisoner" from Prisoner (2022)

4.5/5. I probably wouldn't have heard of this band or this insane song if not for my brother who enjoys this and finds it relatable.

Amaranthe - "BOOM!1" from Manifest (2020)

4/5. The heaviest and most innovative song in this Amaranthe song is more of a djentstep rap-filled track similar to Hacktivist with spoken vocals by Butcher Babies vocalist Heidi Shepherd. Harsh vocalist Henrik Englund does high-speed Eminem-inspired growl-rapping, which normally I'm not a fan of, but here brings wild technical force.

As I Lay Dying - "Burden" from Burden (2024)

4.5/5. As I Lay Dying had already suffered some tough setbacks. Not just frontman Tim Lambesis' imprisonment 10 years ago, but also, after their comeback album Shaped by Fire, 3 of the members left the band. Enter Unearth members guitarist Ken Susi and drummer Nick Pierce, and Miss May I bassist/clean vocalist Ryan Neff. Ryan's singing is perfect for the personal lyrics and crushing instrumentation. I especially enjoy the half-minute intro.

Miss May I - "Forgive and Forget (feat. Fit for a King)" from Forgive and Forget (feat. Fit for a King) (2024)

5/5. And now we go to Ryan Neff's main band Miss May I and check out their collaboration with Fit for a King as part of a 15th anniversary re-recording for their debut Apologies are for the Weak. This almost f***ing outshines the original!

Abbie Falls - "Parasite" from Hell is Other People (2022)

4.5/5. Anyone wanting to hear some brutal metalcore drumming is gonna have a lucky day.

Hollow Front - "Heritage" from The Price of Dreaming (2022)

4/5. Some killer anthemic sh*t right here to rebel against your enemies.

Aviana - "Transcendent" from Corporation (2022)

4.5/5. As the heaviness rises, we eventually get another wicked breakdown.

Becoming the Archetype - "The Sun Eater" from I Am (2012)

5/5. One of the best songs from the only Becoming the Archetype album without Jason Wisdom. The most of the brutality comes in throughout the last minute.

Wage War - "Basic Hate" from Blueprints (2015)

4.5/5. Let's jam on in this heavy glory! Play this amazing song hard and loud (though not deafening). Again the heaviest point at the two-minute mark.

Eighteen Visions - "Terrible Lie" from 1996 (2021)

5/5. This Nine Inch Nails cover is so f***Ing perfect, and my favorite in the rock/metal side of Eighteen Visions' cover album.

Chelsea Grin - "The Path to Suffering" from Suffer in Heaven (2023)

4.5/5. The brutal conclusion to Chelsea Grin's Suffer in Hell/Heaven series of albums has giving this playlist amazing closure.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a slight drop in quality somewhere. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here's my review summary:

Sybreed wasn't the only Swiss cyber metal band around. When the drummer for their debut Slave Design, Alex Anxionaz left the band, he formed his own. His band started out as a deathly industrial metal band called Etna, but then changed into Breach the Void with a sound closer to his former band. Sadly, both Sybreed and Breach the Void split up in late 2013, which is a shame because of how solid both band's debuts are. Breach the Void is a clear continuation of the direction Alex Anxionaz wanted to take on Slave Design, with its toolkit of crushing rhythms, clean/unclean vocals, and cyber synths. Many songs can almost be considered a pinnacle of modern industrial/cyber metal, the only slight problem is when the clean vocals sound a bit inferior to the guttural ones. Nonetheless, the band has some original talent in the solid offering that is The Monochromatic Era!

4/5

Recommended tracks: "Subversive Mind", "Customized Genotype", "Digital Structure", "Ruins", "Spirals"

For fans of: Sybreed, The Interbeing, Mnemic

Fixed

https://metal.academy/hall/528

I've done my review, here's its summary:

From June to July 2021, Eighteen Visions released 3 singles. The first one was an Alice in Chains cover, the second one was a Vision of Disorder, and the third was their own song. Then on the 4th week, all 7 other tracks came out together with those singles in a surprise-release looking back at different bands from the 90s, the cover album 1996! Personally, I think when they switch into Alice in Chains-style hard rock/alt-metal, it doesn't always work as much as their metalcore glory. Still they can blend beauty and chaos together well. With crushing drums, pummeling bass, searing guitars, and in-your-face vocals ranging from clean singing to bloodcurdling screams, there's barely any other cover album to hit you as hard as this. The album has two sides; the first one has their original title track for the album and 4 covers of songs by metalcore/hardcore bands, and the second has covers of songs from hard rock/alt-metal bands. Pretty much every song from both sides manages to outshine the original. With that, I can forgive 18V for their earlier attempts at grunge-metal. The only problematic cover is the one for that Damnation A.D. track, in which the original was dragged down by the painful vocals and lyrics. I dig 18V's cover a lot more than the sh*tty original, but the fact it's still that song prevents this from becoming a highlight. The album would've reached a perfect 5 stars if they had replaced that cover with a different one from a metalcore/hardcore band. Still I really dig the other 9 songs, and if there's anything to bring the band back to their early 2000s glory, this is that!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "1996", "D.T.O.", "Blanket", "Them Bones", "Terrible Lie"

For fans of: Atreyu, Knocked Loose, Vision of Disorder

A playlist I've made based on the above list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/134fsyMvVO10wgiXgW0896

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

https://metal.academy/hall/525

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Sybreed - "Bioactive" from Slave Design (2004)

4.5/5. Already blasting forward is the first and best song of its original album. Right there, you get to hear the members drive through sonic cyber/industrial metal without relying too much on electronics. Here we have the powerful drumming of Alex Anxionaz, showing a bit of Fear Factory influence, the gloomy vocals of Benjamin Nominet ranging from clean to harsh, the heavy guitar grooves of Drop, and the burning bass of Burn.

Pain - "Shut Your Mouth" from Nothing Remains the Same (2002)

5/5. A high-quality industrial dance-metal tune! I can play this song as many times I can and have spawn good memories. Peter Tägtgren is a true modern metal legend. And there are plenty more awesome anthems from this project where that came from.

Rammstein - "Sonne" from Mutter (2001)

4.5/5. The Mutter album's first single was written for boxer Vitali Klitschko, but he never used it. After doing a boxing match referee-like count to 9 then "out". The catchiest riffing can be found here, followed by a melodic chorus, "Here comes the sun." Probably the best song of the album and by the band!

Lindemann - "Golden Shower" from Skills in Pills (2015)

4/5. The lyrics are so ridiculous and potentially offensive, and yet I'm so intrigued, "Golden shower, let it fly, from your pretty c*nt!" Absolutely Rammstein!

Wolok - "Blotches" from The Bilious Hues of Gloom (2022)

3.5/5. Pretty good, but a little too much on the avant-garde black metal side.

Uniform, The Body - "Come And See" from Mental Wounds Not Healing (2018)

4/5. This one shows the vocal duo uniting greatly with the drumming of Lee Buford and the guitarwork of Ben Greenberg.

KMFDM - "Terror" from Nihil (1995)

3.5/5. This political-sound track thunders through with industrial metal guitar.

Static-X - "Take Control" from Project Regeneration, Vol. 2 (2024)

4/5. I can hear a lot of the Linkin Park nu metal era in this song. RIP Chester and Wayne

Deathstars - "Syndrome" from Synthetic Generation (2002)

4.5/5. Another blast from the cyber/industrial metal past! This can go well with the soundtrack for one of the Alien movies.

Celldweller - "Senorita Bonita" from Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head: Volume 02 (2012)

5/5. Man, this Latin-infused metalstep banger should've been twice as long! Celldweller and Blue Stahli are known as masters of electro-industrial rock/metal. This is truly a wonderful highlight of this playlist. It's practically a remix of Blue Stahli's "Shotgun Senorita" while being mostly different. There should be a mashup between those two.

Red Harvest - "Icons of Fear... The Curse of the Universe" from A Greater Darkness (2007) 

5/5. Another perfect standout, this one from the darker, more extreme side of industrial metal.

Killing Joke – "Millenium" from Pandemonium (1994)

3.5/5. This catchy track allowed Killing Joke a rare chance to hit the airwaves in the U.S.

Diabolicum - "The Wind Shall Slay" from The Grandeur of Hell (1999)

4/5. Dark music, dark lyrics... That's industrial black metal for ya!

Health, Lamb of God - "Cold Blood" from DISCO4::PARTII (2022)

4.5/5. The darkness comes further, in a blend of Health's electro-industrial and Lamb of God's groove/thrash metal.

Blue Stahli - "Catastrophe" from Obsidian (2021)

5/5. Honestly, I haven't heard as much Blue Stahli as Celldweller, and that shall change soon, considering how much further I'm allowing myself to go down the electro-industrial rock/metal rabbit hole. Menacing sludgy instrumentation are perfectly put together with soft fragile singing. This work of art and the album artwork are so METAL. Heaviness and melody are in perfect blend, just like many of my favorite metal songs out there. I need to rest of this album Obsidian and this project's discography. Nothing bad about some magical despair, huh? Especially from the skillful guitar and cool slow drums. Here's to a great industrial metal future!

Lord of the Lost - "The Look (feat. Blümchen)" from Blood & Glitter (2023)

4.5/5. This Roxette cover, featuring Jasmin Wagner, also known as German popstar Blümchen is arguably its original album's true standout! RIP Marie Fredriksson

Godflesh - "YOUR NATURE YOUR NURTURE" from NEW FLESH IN DUB VOL. 1 (2021)

5/5. Sometimes the more underground songs from Godflesh are the darkest and most haunting.

Corrections House - "White Man's Gonna Lose" from Know How to Carry a Whip (2015)

4.5/5. The dark effects bleed into this track with some perfect apocalyptic twists from the distorted sax. A true electro-industrial metal standout!

Greymachine - "Sweatshop" from Disconnected (2009)

5/5. Perhaps the album's best track for me. It's like Godflesh but slower and more mesmerizing! The rhythms and feedback never cease to amaze me.

Author & Punisher - "Beastland" from Beastland (2018)

4.5/5. It's almost surpassed by another 6-minute epic which ends its original album in beastly destruction.

The Amenta - "Rape" from n0n (2008)

5/5. Then we have the most twists in this oddly titled epic, which starts chaotic in the first 3 minutes, then quiets down before some doomy melancholy in the heavy riffs and melody. D*mn, what a soothing yet brutal way out!

Fear Factory - "Expiration Date" from Genexus (2015)

5/5. Perhaps the biggest stunner is this 9-minute epic, one of the most haunting and beautiful tracks by the band! Could this be "Resurrection 2.0"?!?

Neurotech - "The Messianic Symphony" from Symphonies II (2022)

4.5/5. Finally, the riffing tones and melodies in what can be considered "The Halcyon Symphony 2.0" is quite nice. Guitars are more prominent and play out better together with the electronic keyboards. Fantastic!

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some drops in quality in the first half. Anyway, I recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

OK, thanks Daniel.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of judgement:

https://metal.academy/hall/522

I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.

I've passed these two nominations uncontested Andi.

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Memphis May Fire - "Without Walls" from Challenger (2012)

4.5/5. Now this is how to start a playlist, with a heavy intro by one of the idols of metalcore before a greater idol band of mine...

Trivium - "In Waves" from In Waves (2011)

5/5 (maybe even 6/5). I know this is the 3rd time this glorious song is in a Revolution playlist, but let's face it, this will remain my ultimate favorite metalcore song today! It starts off with an Ascendancy-like metalcore breakdown with Matt Heafy repeatedly screaming the name of the song, then it leads to a melodic Crusade-like chorus. There's also a complicated solo in the middle, but other than that, the riffs are simple yet catchy. That's what I like!

Of Mice & Men - "Second & Sebring" from Of Mice & Men (2010)

4.5/5. Of Mice & Men's self-titled 2010 debut is nothing more than a post-hardcore album with barely any of the metalcore/alt-metal in subsequent albums. In saying that, there are a couple tracks in the album that I enjoy and they qualify as metalcore. This one, written in memory of unclean vocalist Austin Carlile's mother who passed from a aneurysm induced by Marfan Syndrome, takes on the melodic metalcore of his previous band Attack Attack!, specifically that band's debut Someday Came Suddenly, albeit without the autotune and trance-y dance-y synths.

The Ghost Inside - "Faith of Forgiveness" from Fury and the Fallen Ones (2008)

4/5. A memorable highlight, still performed live to this day, including their comeback show over a decade later.

Unearth - "Invictus" from The Wretched; the Ruinous (2023)

4.5/5. Then we have the thrashy blaster. The strong breakdown isn't highly hardcore, but it has the brutal-melodic blend of Shogun-era Trivium.

Betraying the Martyrs - "The Covenant" from The Hurt the Divine the Light (2009)

5/5. When I was in my teens, power/symphonic metal were the genres I enjoyed. Betraying the Martyrs is one of the first bands I've discovered since my move to modern metal genres to have symphonic elements. The lyrics of this concept EP are based on Genesis from the Bible. The death growls are so killer here.

Shadow of Intent - "The Migrant" from The Migrant (2023)

4.5/5. F*** YES, Shadow of Intent are really channeling their inner Lorna Shore in this new single.

Shai Hulud - "Two and Twenty Misfortunes" from That Within Blood Ill-Tempered (2003)

4/5. This song is obviously not the symphonic deathcore of the previous two tracks, but it certainly has the layers of a hardcore/metalcore symphony.

Veil of Maya - "Punisher" from Eclipse (2012)

4.5/5. "All they have is just, baowdit baodidawaow ranudiuh ranuhdiduh." A young man mocks Periphery in a hate video towards that band, and then Veil of Maya mocks that guy in return with one of the most kick-A riffs in djent, reminding me a lot of After the Burial.

Varials - "The Cycle of Violence: Chapter 1" from Scars for You to Remember (2022)

5/5. Mitchell Rogers is a total beast of a vocalist! At least compared to Travis Tabron from that other Varials song a couple playlists back.

Earth Crisis – "Stand By" (title swapped with "Ecocide" on Spotify) from All Out War E.P. (1992)

3/5. This track is not really as spectacular as the first two of this Earth Crisis EP, but it's part of a decent start of the band's journey vastly improved by their mid-90s material.

From Autumn to Ashes - "Every Reason To" from The Fiction We Live (2003)

3.5/5. Most people have discovered this band in the mid-2000s, but for me, it was only over a couple years ago. Are they good at what they do? You bet it shows! Those were the good times that I'm a couple decades late for.

Counterparts - "Compass" from The Difference Between Hell And Home (2013)

4/5. This one stands out well in the music and lyrics. "I am a compass, constantly spinning, constantly searching for the end." The drumming and riffing sound progressive, and the midsection breakdown touches down hard. The outro after a small break from heaviness has some absolutely chilling lyrics, ending with Murphy yelling the album title, "You're the difference between Hell and Home!"

God Forbid - "The Lonely Dead" from IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)

4.5/5. This one begins with headbanging riffs for a minute followed by a catchy lead. The lyrics serve good metaphors for after the virus, with people mourning all of the dead victims. Byron Davis continues his screaming while the Coyle brothers sing cleanly in the chorus while doing some great guitar work. Pretty cool post-solo riff! And that catchy lead riff returns again at the 4 and a half minute mark. Satisfying! The pretty piano outro was played by the Coyle brothers' dad Kevin Coyle. Those brothers really got their music talents from their Dad, did they?

Killswitch Engage - "My Last Serenade" from Alive or Just Breathing (2002)

5/5. I can't believe it took me so long to become interested in this band until finally last year. I think during the pandemic and its tail-end, I became more in the mood to find some bands to cure my part of that global depression. Thanks to that great boost, I'm able to appreciate masterpiece highlights like this one much more!

All That Remains - "Let You Go" from Let You Go (2024)

4.5/5. Another powerful comeback single from All That Remains! A little more over the place than "Divine", but still superb.

Frontierer - "Gower St." from Unloved (2018)

4/5. You don't have to go all-out death metal/core for brutality. Mathcore is its chaotic future! Though the drums are a bit compressed.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "If They Holler, Don't Let Go" from Worse Than Alone (2009)

4.5/5. #12 has made some of the most talented mathcore around, and this is one of my favorite tracks from their 2009 album. Glad they're active again after their temporary split between this album's release and their reformation 8 years ago. This song shall grab your attention from start to finish. Guitarist Jamie McIlroy left the band between the Here at the End of All Things concert and this album's recording, so the band became a 5-piece. The ridiculous diversity of their earlier material is front and center, almost competing with Between the Buried and Me. The only difference is, BTBAM dropped the metalcore part of their sound entirely after that, while #12 kept theirs while having some of that other band's progressiveness. Don't let go of this band!

Iwrestledabearonce - "Eli Cash vs. the Godless Savages" from It's All Happening (2009)

4/5. Iwrestledabearonce is another mathcore band gone too soon, this time with no chance of reforming. Later members vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer went on to form Spiritbox. Still there's a lot to love about the chaotic metalcore subgenre that is mathcore.

Osiah - "Seeds of Despair" from Chronos (2023)

3.5/5. If you thought Gojira could make "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", this deathcore band can slam you to the ground like a gravitational sledgehammer. This track is one of the heaviest, most monstrous tracks I've heard in deathcore. In saying that, it can't beat the epic greatness of the earlier symphonic deathcore section. Still you don't wanna miss this d*mn heavy ending breakdown at the 4-minute mark that can shatter the world in half.

Signs of the Swarm - "Tower of Torsos" from Amongst the Low & Empty (2023)

3/5. Killer drumming in this decent deathcore track that I don't love too much but still can give it a thumbs-up.

Phinehas - "Communion for Ravens" from Dark Flag (2017)

3.5/5. We're back into the melodic side with a short soft intro leading into more headbanging heaviness. The lyrics are a bit confusing which brings the score down a bit.

Ankor - "Oblivion" from Oblivion (2023)

4/5. I'm so impressed by the vocal stylings of Jessie Williams, ranging between poppy singing, Beyond the Black-ish mezzo-soprano, and harsh growls. Even when it all sounds so serene, the guitars and drums can still be heavy. I need to thank my brother for discovering this band first.

Novelists - "Souvenirs" from Souvenirs (2015)

4.5/5. No journey is ever complete without... souvenirs! Novelists has a lot of them in metalcore, whether they're clean melody or djenty technicality. The latter is presented well in f***ing great riffing at the two-minute point. It's stories like this that can help inspire your own stories and universe, specifically your characters' deep heavy problems such as abuse or death. So insanely phenomenal! The vocals are so intense and have brilliant synergy with the lyrics. If I ever start my own band, I'll make sure to nail that heavy/melodic blend as much as I can. There's just a lot to enjoy and headbang to. And they say only Too Close to Touch has that kind of emotion...

Zao - "The Latter Rain" from Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998)

5/5. This one's a greater step, another 6-and-a-half-minute epic! Though it's not the end yet...

The Devil Wears Prada - "Lord Xenu" from With Roots Above and Branches Below (2009)

5/5. This one would've closed the playlist in epic heaviness, but there's still one more epic left....

Norma Jean - "Sun Dies, Blood Moon" from Wrongdoers (2013)

4.5/5. That over 15-minute epic from Norma Jean's debut with The Chariot vocalist Josh Scogin may be their most ambitious achievement, but this one comes close. Beautiful music and poetic lyrics shape this track up to an almost perfect masterpiece. The most climatic part actually comes 6 minutes in that then pummels into a brutal collapse. And just when you think it's over, we have the final 6 minutes of sludgy doom. "Make my way through my designer home....."

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a couple drops in quality throughout. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here's my review summary:

Limp Bizkit is a band that has gained quite some hate over the years. From their name, to their nu/rap metal/rock sound, to the scathing vocal anger of vocalist Fred Durst, to their live performances causing violence in crowds (one show causing the death of a teenage girl)... The band even covered a George Michael single as their entry into fame. Basically they're like an extra-cheese-coated biscuit, and I can bite down on that biscuit more than those who give up after a nibble. Some of the rap metal tracks in this album, Significant Other, are quite pleasant, with anthems done better than most other rap metal bands in my opinion. They are leveled up by the guitar attack of Wes Borland and the rapping of Fred Durst, alongside melodic groove and harmonic singing, along with a few guest vocalists from the rap, rock, and metal scenes. Even I hesitated to call this album good, but I have to tell my true opinion. And what can I say? I'm an open-minded person....

3.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Just Like This", "Break Stuff", "Rearranged", "Nobody Like You", "9 Teen 90 Nine", "N2gether Now", "A Lesson Learned"

For fans of: Korn, Linkin Park, Eminem (not that a lot of us here have listened to Eminem, but the album definitely has some Slim Shady vibes)

That's a high-quality assessment of the album right there Vinny. I thoroughly enjoyed getting your take on it.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

https://metal.academy/hall/520